Hanging out at Hi Hium

We spent a lot of time just hanging out at Hi Hium.

Eating lunch or a snack or something on the front porch of Grammy's cabin.

Ollie and his cousin Andrew (he is one month older)

The whole gang.  Angie, Brian, Andrew(sleeping), Grammy, Fafa, Brad, Abi, Brody, Colt, Me and Ollie

The boy that stayed in the cabin near us played with Brody and Abi all day.  They had such a great time together.  He was a great kid!  He was very kind and helpful to the younger ones and listened to us if we asked him to do something. 

Grammy & Ollie

Hi Hium Trip

One of the reasons we had to leave Carissa's wedding so early was so that we could get back and finish packing for our annual trip to Lake Hi Hium. We had to leave at 6:00 the next morning. (Brad's family has been going to Lake Hi Hium almost every year since Brad was a toddler.)  Lake Hi Hium is near Cache Creek in Canada.  It's about a 6 hour drive (without stops). 

We got on the road pretty close to 6:15 and were able to stop at Starbucks.  We were almost to Bellingham when we realized we forgot the boys' birth certificates.  We were so frustrated with ourselves because we thought we were actually more organized then we had been in the previous years.  After thinking it through we decided to call our neighbors (who were taking care of our house and are wonderful people).  They were able to fax the birth certificates to us in Bellingham and more importantly they let us in to Canada.
We were a little late reaching Lake Hi Hium but we were thankful we didn't have to wait another day.

A few pictures of our trip (with more to come in later posts).

There is no electricity or cell phone reception.  This is the view from our cabin.  The cabin at the end of the picture is where Grammy, Fafa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Angie, Abi and Andrew stayed.

Our cabin.  We constantly had clothes on the drying line.  I didn't quite pack enough for spit ups and dirty boys.

A view of the lake from our cabin.

Another cabin on the other side of us.

 

Brad & Colt out for a boat ride.

Brody in his life jacket.

Dancing at the wedding!

We all loved dancing at the wedding. The boys couldn't wait to get on the dance floor and were on the dance floor before anyone else. I was a little bummed when we had to leave because I LOVE dancing and wanted to stay longer.

Brad and the boys dancing.

Colt loved dancing with Papa Bob.

A little tired from all the dancing.

Brody's also a little tired.

I didn't get as many videos as I probably should have.  But here is a short one of Colt dancing.

Carissa's Wedding

My cousin Carissa got married on August 7th. (A great day for a wedding!) It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time.

Brody & Gunner waiting patiently.  All the boys did a great job during the ceremony.

Since I rarely get dressed up I decided it would be a good idea to get a family picture.

Brad quickly noticed that Papa Bob was dressed like the servers at the reception.  In typical Brad fashion he had one of the servers hand my dad one of their appetizer plates so that my dad could start serving people.  My dad is such a great sport and quickly started asking people if they wanted an appetizer.

And of course he engaged everyone in conversation.

Carissa and her husband, Dallas Harwood, enjoying their first dance together.

A rare picture of all of us siblings together.  Jenny, Jason, Jessie and me.  (my camera wasn't taking very good pictures for some reason)

I definitely could not have enjoyed the wedding nearly as much without my sister there.  I think I have mentioned this already but she is getting her baby fix so she can have another baby soon. 

Dallas and Carissa attempting to take a photo with all the kids. 

Colt & Gunner tearing it up on the dance floor.

They had the couple dance.  Brad and I actually lasted quite awhile but my parents lasted even longer (aren't they cute?)  They were the third to last couple. Dallas' grandparents beat them.

They had the dollar dance where you had to pay money to dance with the bride or groom. Brody spent $10.00 and was sent to the front of the line every time to dance with Carissa.  He just loved her.  (In fact he told me today that he wants Carissa to be his mommy because he likes her.  A little sad for me but maybe I should just dress up more often and try to look as beautiful as Carissa was on her wedding day. ) 

Sean & Ollie

Sean has been a great help for me. He is able to get things when I need them and can even help watch the boys. He isn't always quick to jump at my requests and is especially a little hesitant when I ask him to hold Ollie. (He's a little nervous about holding him or being pooped on and spit up on).

I thought I would get a few pictures of them together.


Ollie looks so long and big in this picture.

Miracle Treat Day

Sean came to visit and help out again. When the boys were all up and ready for the day I asked them what they wanted to do. Brody quickly responded with "we should go to Dairy Queen." Now he associates Sean with Dairy Queen. I thought it would be fun to go again (I'm loving those blizzards right now) but decided we should make it a family event for after dinner.

I told Brad about my idea and he was ready for a blizzard too. I also discovered that this was the same day as Miracle Treat Day and Dairy Queen. $1.00 of every blizzard goes to the Children's Miracle Network. So not only were we having a fun family outing but we were also helping out others. (It at least makes me feel a little better about splurging on a blizzard. :) )


Can you find Sean in this picture?

Oh Look!  Ollie in his car seat! 

Sean's blizzard:  M&Ms & Snickers

Brody & his chocolate ice cream cone.  (Ice cream cones are cheaper than blizzards and the boys don't know any different yet so I'm not going to introduce them to a blizzard yet)

Brad and his goofy smile.

Brody ate the bottom of the cone so ice cream was dripping everywhere. 

Colt showing down on his ice cream.

He was SO messy at the end.

I thought for sure they would all have Sean tummyaches and we would be up all night with the boys complaining.  But the ice cream seemed to settle in their tummies ok.  At least we don't do this every night...but I guess we are now going when Sean comes to visit. 

Blueberry Picking

A few weeks ago we went raspberry picking and I wanted to make sure we were able to go blueberry picking.  I learned that some of the blueberry picking places were open in the evening so I convinced Brad to make it into a family event.

I packed us a dinner (it was more like a lunch, just served at dinner time) and we went to a blueberry farm in Bellevue.  I wanted to go to one in North Bend but this worked out better since it was a little closer. 


Hmmmm....which blueberry should I pick.

Colt showing us the blueberry he picked.

Brody and his blueberry bucket.

The blueberries were tasty.

Brad got too hot picking them.

Ollie, in the car seat, again.  At least it was a nice evening.

We were going to have our "dinner" at the blueberry farm but when we sat down to eat there were mosquitos everywhere.   We decided it would be more enjoyable if we just went back home and had our picnic at home.